Is ambulance company's volunteer policy voluntary?

Employees of the Huntington Beach-based Shoreline Ambulance Service demonstrated some of their new equipment outside Westminster City Hall recently. Westminster city officials have questioned the legality of the company's volunteer policy and told Shoreline it wants language added to their contract that would indemnify the city should an employee file a future claim regarding the volunteer policy.ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

WESTMINSTER – The Boys and Girls Club loves Shoreline Ambulance Service. So does Abrazar Inc., a community center for lower-income residents. And so do some Vietnamese groups.

Their representatives extolled the ambulance company as a great community partner at a City Council meeting last March – one of the main reasons council members cited for granting the company another three-year contract, against the recommendation of city, police and fire officials.

Shoreline employees volunteer at these organizations – a lot. Maybe some want to volunteer. But whether they want to or not, that's what they have been required to do if they want to keep their jobs in Westminster and not be transferred to less desirable assignments.

In letters to Shoreline President Giovanni Chiarella, city officials last month questioned whether the policy is legal. The council doesn't support it, wrote Christian Bettenhausen, assistant city attorney. "In fact, we strongly discourage it," he said.

Meanwhile, another one of Shoreline's owners questioned the policy's legality and said it was abusive of employees. And this week, a spokeswoman for the California Labor Commissioner's Office said such a practice violates labor laws.

"If an employer is requiring their employees to volunteer 24 hours, that is directing the employee and that time is compensable," said Erika Monterroza, spokeswoman for the California Labor Commissioner's Office.

In response to the city's concerns, the president of the company said this week that he has rewritten the policy.

"The city is our customer. There's no intent on our part whatsoever to enact a policy that will make the city feel uncomfortable," said Chiarella, president of the Huntington Beach-based company.

"We support local charities and groups that do work in the city," Chiarella said. "We don't just take from the city of Westminster. We give back on a regular basis."

In addition to donations to various groups, from the Boys and Girls Club of Westminster to the Vietnamese organization that puts on Black April events, Shoreline has what it calls a "community outreach volunteerism initiative."

That policy told employees that: "Volunteering showcases our gratitude for the privilege to be a health care provider in this community and giving back is the right thing to do."

The rules are that employees must complete 24 volunteer hours per quarter with at least one of the agencies prearranged to work with Shoreline employees.

"Only volunteer work done at the pre-selected facilities will fulfill the requirements," the policy states.

If the requirements are not met "exactly as described, the employee will be removed from the program and not permitted to work in Westminster," the policy states.And if an employee fails to comply, they are reassigned to an alternative shift elsewhere in the county.

Westminster is Shoreline's only municipal contract, which involves 911 calls, coveted by the emergency medical technicians who often use their ambulance experience as a stepping stone to other jobs.

In letters to Chiarella, Bettenhausen said the council didn't endorse the policy, questioned its legality and said Westminster officials didn't want the city to be liable for any future claims related to it. Language indemnifying the city from any future claims relating to the volunteer policy will be added to the contract, Bettenhausen wrote in a July 23 letter to Shoreline.

Mayor Margie Rice, one of four City Council members who voted to award Shoreline the new contract, said she and the council oppose the company's volunteer policy.

Employees of the Huntington Beach-based Shoreline Ambulance Service demonstrated some of their new equipment outside Westminster City Hall recently. Westminster city officials have questioned the legality of the company's volunteer policy and told Shoreline it wants language added to their contract that would indemnify the city should an employee file a future claim regarding the volunteer policy. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Giovanni Chiarella is the president of Shoreline Ambulance Service, a Huntington Beach-based company that has a policy asking employees to dedicate 24 hours of their own time each quarter to a nonprofit of the company's choice. City officials have questioned the legality of the volunteer policy. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
An employee of Shoreline Ambulance Service shows one of the company's new ambulances outside Westminster City Hall. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Giovanni Chiarella, second from left, with some of his employees of Shoreline Ambulance Service in Huntington Beach. Following concerns from Westminster officials about the legality of a company volunteer policy, Chiarella rewrote the policy to state that participation is "strictly voluntary." The policy, however, still tells employees that their volunteer work will be "among the factors" considered for preferred shifts and locations. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Giovanni Chiarella is president of Shoreline Ambulance Service in Huntington Beach. His company has a "community outreach volunteerism initiative" that asks employees to work 24 hours each quarter, on their own time, at a non-profit pre-selected by the company. Following concerns from Westminster officials about the policy's legality, Chiarella rewrote it to state that participation is "strictly voluntary." The policy, however, still tells employees that their volunteer work will be "among the factors" considered for preferred shifts and locations. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Shoreline Ambulance Service recently purchased three new ambulances with state-of-the-art equipment to fulfill the requirements set in a new contract with the city of Westminster. During its first five years in Westminster, the company had a unique arrangement with the Orange County Fire Authority and was allowed to use two OCFA ambulances staffed by Shoreline employees. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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